Our Hearts Were Torn: A Memoir of Survival, Return, and Redemption: Vietnam Tet Offensive 1967-1968 Paperback – January 23, 2026

It was 1967 and the North Vietnamese Army had decided to go all out in making an aggressive push to retake Saigon. Crossing the DMZ, they had one major obstacle to overcome and get through on their way south. That major obstacle was us.Arriving in Vietnam, John was attached to the 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines, 3rd Marine Division, a battalion know as ‘The Magnificent Bastards’. Patrolling the northern border of Vietnam, known as the DMZ, he would enter the war at its turning point, approaching its darkest hour known as the Tet Offensive and partake in some of its fiercest battles.This captivating, heart-wrenching story of a young Marine soldier will grip you as John paints a picture of the horrors of war. It’s a story of brotherhood built among comrades in a bond of blood that only those who experienced it could understand. Having survived many battles and witnessing the death of the majority of his friends, he was wounded in the battle of Dai Do and left for dead on the battlefield. What happens from then on can only be described as a series of miraculous interventions.The story takes a twist when 30 years later the soldier returns to those same battlefields and to the Village of Dai Do where he meets those he fought against. It was that unexpected visitation that would change his life forever. Read more